Xinhua, September 1, 2013

Over 200 killed in attacks across Afghanistan in August

The UN Assistance Mission for Afghanistan recently reported that over 1,319 Afghans were killed and more than 2,500 wounded in acts of terrorism and violence in the first half of the year

At least 203 people, most of them civilians, were killed and hundreds wounded in bombings and attacks across Afghanistan last month, according to official figures.

Among a total of 50 major bomb attacks launched by the Taliban and other militant groups, around 20 were of the suicide nature.

The Taliban insurgent group has intensified attacks since they launched annual rebel offensive in April this year.

On Saturday, five civilians and a policeman were killed and 20 others wounded when a suicide bombing hit a branch of a local bank in Kandahar city, the provincial capital of southern Kandahar province.

Afghans rush a wounded man to receive treatment, after a suicide car bomber struck outside the Afghan Supreme Court in Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, June 11, 2013. The suicide car bomber killed more than a dozen and wounded tens, police and health officials said. The car bomb exploded outside the court’s back entrance as employees were leaving for the day and as cars belonging to staff were driving out of the back gate, said police officer Jahn Agha. (Photo: Ahmad Jamshid/AP)

The obvious target of the attack was soldiers who were waiting to withdraw their monthly salaries, witnesses said. Many soldiers were wounded in the blast.

The Taliban, which has waged an insurgency since their regime was toppled by a US-led invasion in late 2001, urged civilians to stay away from official gatherings, military convoys and centers regarded as the legitimate targets by militants.

On Friday, 12 civilians were killed when the vehicle carrying them set off an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) in neighboring Helmand province.

On Aug. 28, 10 Taliban militants launched a coordinated attack on a coalition base in eastern Ghazni province, in which two car bombs went off in the provincial capital Ghazni city, killing two US soldiers, three civilians and four policemen, and wounding over 60 others.

Twelve foreign soldiers were killed last month across Afghanistan, with half of them dead in IED blasts.

The Taliban also launched several massive attacks on logistic convoys, particularly those carrying goods for the foreign forces.

In western Farah province, 12 policemen, five drivers and 72 militants were killed in two separate attacks on lorries on Aug. 19 and Aug. 27. More than 30 vehicles and oil trucks were also destroyed in the attacks.

The bloodiest bomb attack took place on Aug. 8 in eastern Nangarhar province when militants targeted a group of mourners at a graveyard where they held a memorial service for a local leader, who was also killed by Taliban.

Eight women and eight children were killed and three women and a child seriously injured in the blast.

The UN Assistance Mission for Afghanistan recently reported that over 1,319 Afghans were killed and more than 2,500 wounded in acts of terrorism and violence in the first half of the year, a 23 percent rise in overall civilian casualties compared with the same period of last year.

Local analysts feared that the Taliban would intensify attacks across the country as Afghan army and police took the lead in combat operations and the country is preparing for the presidential election slated for early next year.

Most of the foreign forces are due to withdraw from Afghanistan by the end of next year.

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